Here is the impeccable British film star David Niven as Hollywood raconteur, regaling us with stories like this one: in 1936 Niven and his close friend Errol Flynn were filming The Charge of the Light Brigade for Michael Curtiz, "whose Hungarian-orientated English was a joy to us all." High on the rostrum, Curtiz decided the moment had come to order the arrival on the scene of a hundred riderless chargers. "Okay," he yelled into a megaphone, "Bring on the empty horses!"

"A delight from start to finish. With shrewdness and warmth ... Niven brings us to Hollywood in its golden prime, from the early '30s to the age of TV. Above all, he brings us them—the outstanding stars, producers, directors, writers, tycoons and oddballs, many of whom were his friends ... [in this] inspired mix of descriptions, impressions, and anecdotes."—Publishers Weekly